Subscribe to Email Updates

Not one to worry about his health, Michael Mathews never bothered with annual checkups or wellness screening—until he found out he was a walking time bomb.

A $60 test tipped him off to a potential problem with one of his carotid arteries, the blood vessels on the sides of the neck that deliver blood to the brain and head. Further testing showed he had developed a large buildup of plaque in his left artery.

"I felt fine," Mathews says. "I had no symptoms or medical issues related to the occlusion."

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. “Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease,” says Dr. Stuart Smalheiser of Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group. “About 25 percent of people who have heart attacks don’t have symptoms,” Smalheiser says. “Another 25 percent of them present with atypical symptoms. As you get older, you’re more likely to be asymptomatic or have symptoms not generally associated with heart attacks.”

Each year, nearly 750,000 Americans suffer a stroke, the fourth leading cause of death in the US. When you're experiencing a stroke, every moment counts. "Time is so important with a stroke," Beaufort Memorial Stroke Coordinator Sheri O'Brien says. "The faster you get diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome."